Rental Update: Auckland Rents End 2024 At A Slower Pace

The following statistics are drawn from more than 17,500 tenancies managed by Barfoot & Thompson in the Auckland region, tracked monthly and reported quarterly. This update captures the period to 31 December 2024. Comparisons are for the same period the previous year unless otherwise stated. See tables at the end of this email or in the attached for more detailed information and annual comparisons.

While the average cost to rent a home in New Zealand’s biggest city continued to rise throughout 2024, new data from Auckland’s largest rental agency, Barfoot & Thompson, shows the level of quarterly increases reduced as the year progressed.

The average weekly rent for a home in Auckland reached $689.78 at the end of December 2024, up 3.89%, or around $26 more per week, than December 2023. This contrasts with 2024’s peak increase of 5.69% recorded in March (roughly $36 more per week) and follows the 4.81% reported last quarter (September 2024), which was the year’s first dip under a 5% increase.

Grant Sykes, General Manager of Sales at Barfoot & Thompson, says the shift comes off the back of easing market pressures that drove higher-paced price growth in the first half of 2024.

“In early 2024, tension between high demand and constrained supply was intensified by factors like the return of long-term visitors and international students to the city, record-high net migration and even the ongoing impact of 2023’s extreme weather events.

“Since mid-year, things have begun to level out, with a continued decline in net migration through decreasing arrivals and increasing departures.”

Sykes says along with this easing of demand, it is likely new supply is coming to the market from some property-owners listing their homes for rent while overseas.

With more than 65 branches managing properties across Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, Sykes says the agency also draws insights directly from those in the market.

“Our property managers tell us an overriding sentiment from many in late 2024 was ‘we’re just going to get through Christmas’, with people prioritising their end-of-year finances over the added cost of moving house.

“This likely subdued activity in the last few months of the year, delaying the typical upswing in activity we usually see in Spring.

“That said, property managers have been reporting a noticeable shift since late December, with more looking for new properties and attending property viewings.”

Between mid-December and mid-January, Barfoot & Thompson had received an average of nearly 900 rental enquiries and well over 100 rental applications per day.

Barfoot & Thompson’s Property Management division operates in company branches across Auckland and Northland, as well as parts of the Waikato and most recently, the Bay of Plenty. Together, the division manages nearly 20,000 rental properties and employs more than 300 property managers and support staff.

In Auckland, it manages around 17,500 properties at any one time. Three-bedroom properties represent over a third of this portfolio, followed by two-bedroom properties at just over a quarter. Across Auckland, it manages the most properties in West Auckland (>2,500), followed closely by South Auckland, North Shore and the Eastern city fringe suburbs. The division’s data from Central Auckland is made up of almost entirely apartments.

Average weekly rent received across Auckland, December 2024

Average weekly rent received across Auckland by quarter, December 2023 to December 2024

Average weekly rent over the past ten years, December each year

The tables above are based on statistics drawn from a portfolio of approximately 17,500 Auckland-based rental properties managed by Barfoot & Thompson. This includes both existing and newly signed tenancies. These figures are compared to the same time last year, to show a percentage change. These statistics are reviewed and released quarterly, however, monthly rental statistic reports are also available on the Barfoot & Thompson website under ‘Market Reports’.

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